Two-piece wear-preventer



Oct. 4, 1932. o. R. RADFORD ET AL TWO-PIECE WEAR PREVENTER Filed Jan. 23. 1929 IN l/szvToe:

Da an/1606690 CHHALEIS 4 7mg Patented Oct. 4;, 1932 I vagrant STATES PATENT OFFHCE DOUGLAS 3. RADFORD AND CHARLES LAMB, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Application filed January 23, 1929. Serial No. 334,405.

Our invention relates to, well-drilling equipment and relates particularly to Wearpreventers for use on drill-pipe.

' In the rotary system of drilling wells the .5 rotary bitis attached to the lower end of a string of drill-pipe,--which string of drillpipe is rotated by" a rotary machine situated on the floor of the derrick of the well. The

drill-pipe consists of stands of pipe which areconnected together bytool joints. Each stand isabout eighty feet long and consists four-lengths of pipe whichare attached together by ordinary sleeve-couplings. Since he extreme length of the drill-pipe renders it comparatively flexible and since the well is usually crooked the tool joint portions of the drill-pipe will engage' one side of the well-v casing or one side'of the well if no casing has been installed. This engagement causes wear on the drill-pipe and if'a well casing has been installed it causes wear on the wellcasing.

, To overcome these disadvantages and avoid wear on the drill-pipe and well-casing :5 wear-preventers have been devised for installation on the drill-pipe. These wearpreventers consist of collars which are securedtothe drill-pipe. 'The collars being larger than the drill-pipe engage the wellcasing or the side ofthe well,and in view of this fact, wear on the drill-pipe is entirely prevented and wear on the well-casing is considerably reduced. j

I The. ordinary wear-preventers are annular and extend entirely [around the drill-pipe. Sometimes the.wearpreventers are nearly as large as the well-casing or the hole inwhich the drill-pipe is operated.

v low of rotary fluid which isfiowing upward through the well ischindered to the extent that the cuttings of the'bit are notsatisfactorily carried to the surface of the ground.

{One of the objec'tsl'of our invention is to provide a wear-.prev entel for drillpipe which is so designed that it will not hinder Y the flow of rotary fluid through the well. 1 7 Another object of our invention is to pro-' .vide a wear-preventer. which is formed of op- .posing sections less than an annulus, which 7 are offset along the a'xis of the drill-pipe so Consequently the that a large space is provided opposite each section 'Another object of the invention is to provide a wear-preventer of the character mentioned which is secured in place by an annu larstrap.

to provide a wear-preventer which is secured A still further object of our invention is I in place by means which surrounds part of the wear-preventer and engages the part of the pipe opposite the wear-preventer.

still further object of our invention is to provide a wear-preventer adapted to be placed 011a drill-pipe, which wear-preventer includes a section adapted to engage the drillpipe, this section having upper and lower channels, and has annular securing means extending around the drill-pipe and extending in the upper and lower channels of the section. I v. j In the following description we shall point out other objects of our invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawing in which various embodiments of our invention are illustrated: I

Fig. l'is an elevational View showing one form of our invention in which the sections arefoffset.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 ofFig.1.,

' Fig. 3 is a View illustrating the form of our invention inwhich the sections are arranged al 14 represents part of a drill-pipe which,

according to standard practice, extends from the surface of the ground in which it is rotated by means of a rotary machine to the bottom'of thewellwhere a rotary bit is secured to it; this bit rotating with the drillpipe and'boringthe well. V I V Our-';invention provides a section 16 which is less than an annulus. In the form. shown the sect1ons16 are semi-annular but 1t should be understood. that they may be greater or less than semi-annular, theimportant feature being thatthey are less than an entire annulus. The section 16 includes a central body' portion 17. havingan outer arcuated.

- face 18 adapted forfengageinent with the well-casing. 11. Extending Yupward and downward from the body 17 are walls 19.

Formed at the outer ends of the walls are j outwardly extending flanges 19a. This construction provides upper channels 26 and l lowerchannels 21. "The sections 16 are pre f erably emade from an anti-friction material 'entirelymade from rubber but should have thoserportionsfformed from rubber or rubber such as rubberLThe sections need not be composition which engage the well-casing 11 installed, thefwall of the well 12.

- or, in the'eventlthat no well-casing has been In'Fig. 1 we show two sections areofi'setalong the axis of the drill} pipeltfl The sections are placed in opposing relation so thatthe upper sectionis' n the left side ofthe drill-pipel l and the low ersection isfon the right side of the drill- .pipe 14 If more than two sections are pro- 7 vid'ed: the sections may be made less than semi-annular and may be arrangedon radial center lines which are 120 apartrather than 180 apart, as illustrated inFig. 1.1 Opposite the uppersection 16-is acomparatively 7 large space22and opposite the lower secupwardly throughthe well. 7 I

The sections are securedtogether by secur tion '16 is" a comparatively large space 23.. Between the lower end of the upper section .and thelupper end of, the lower section 'is a connecting space 24. The spaces 22,231 and .24 provide apassage for the rotary. fluid to pass through. The spaces are sufficiently large to not restrict the flow of rotary fluid ing means which preferably restin the channels 20,." In Figs. 1 and2 the securing means "is shown in the form of completely annular straps, 26. A strap 26- extends in the, upper channel 20 and the lower channel 21. The

straps '26 engage thedrill-pipe on the side opposite fro'm'the section 16,. as illustrated bentfinto' interlocking relation be understoodthat separate fastening means inay be provided,'itdesired-." I 1 f. T jI-he' means for attaching the ends of the g st-raps 26 must be such that the strap will be inIlig. The. section 16is first placedas shqwn whereaner thefstraps are placed-as shownand then the ends of the strapsare "secured together as indicated *s'uit'able securin means may at 27. "Any be provided. In the drawing the ends of theistrap are but it; should v per channels 20 and lower channels placed under considerable tension so that the sections 16 will be securely clamped to the pipe so' that they cannot rotate thereon.

It is not essential to the invention that the strap 26 be a complete annulus. For example, the strap 26 may be made in two parts, one end of each-of thetwo parts being se- 7 cured to the section 16. It seems desirable at the present time to make the strap 26 from a comparatively flexible material but it is within the "broad concept ct -my invention to make the securing means 26 from a rather rigid material which does not have to, be completely annular. For example, the securing means may be, madein two pieces of rigid material which are secured together by bolts. Further-more, itis not essential to the invention that the channels20-and 21 be provided. This construction is adhered to only because it is convenientto the form of the-invention illustrated-in the drawing y V Q The form of the invention justidescribed and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 will prevent the. drill-pipe 1-1 or the wall ofthe'well12and at the same 1 1 from engagingfthe casing time it will notprevent the rotary fluid from 7 flowing throughv the well. {The important part of the invention thereforerestspartly in this feature. Another important feature of the, invention is the means of attaching the sections 16 in;place, which means provides a securing means adapted to engage the sections 16 and the part of the drill-pipe opposite-the section 16.

. In Figs..3, and 5 we show a form of our invention. in which the sections 16 are placed 7 opposite each other so that two sections pros ded in the walls 18. In thisconstruction the I straps are attached'to the section 16 at all times and are easier to install forthereason that whenl'the sectioni'is held in place the strap is readily availableiandthe ends thereof may be secured together this form of theinvention the strap 26 need notfbe in one piecebut may be in two pieces jwhich'extend outwardfrom edge faces 30 of the sectionflit is not essentialtothis term of the invention to have the channels 20 and 21 v H very quickly. In

, 1; The form shown Fig.8 includes aone- 7 piece body 10 Whip 11:18 split ,at' 41. The body 1s spread" apart and placed on the pipe 14 and ithen the straps 26 are secured in place.

Before the. straps are secured the body is less than a cylinder, the edges being separated as shown by dotted lines 42. i

We claim as our invention: A Wear-.preventer adapted to be placed on a drill-pipe comprising: a section having a relatively extensive engaging surface adapted'to engage said drill-pipe; and annular I securing means surroundlng said section and engaging said drill-pipe for securing said section in place.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles, California, this 16th day of January, 1929. v

DOUGLAS R. 'RADFORD.

CHARLES LAMB. 

